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Oilers Smoke Brahmas 7-1
Marcellus Notches Hat Trick as Tulsa Rolls Fort Worth
February 7, 2003
by Janna Kinder TulsaHockey.net
Appearing envigorated by several recent roster additions, the Tulsa Oilers hit the ice with guns blazing Friday night, laying the lumber to the Fort Worth Brahmas 7-1 in front of a boisterous crowd of 6,917
at the Tulsa Convention Center.
Tulsa's defense, bolstered by new adds Neil Wilkinson, Regan Harper and Andrew Oke, limited the Brahmas to 23 shots, preventing quality scoring chances for the majority
of the contest.
Oiler forward Todd Marcellus, named the game's number one star, notched a hat trick in the second period and registered 6 total points for the game.
The win was an important one
for the Oilers, as Northern Conference rivals Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Bossier Shreveport all picked up wins Friday night. On a positive note for Tulsa, Amarillo lost their Friday night
contest to Laredo.
CHL Standings as of February 7, 2003
The Oilers opened the scoring at 3:45 of the first period when newly acquired forward Peter
MacKellar broke through the Brahma zone, skated in on Fort Worth goaltender Erasmo Saltarelli, and fired a high shot from the left crease area into the top corner of the net for his 19th goal of season.
Assists were awarded to forward Derek Toninato and Oiler netminder Rod Branch.
Tulsa grabbed a 2-0 lead during an Oiler 5 on 3 power play when defenseman Mike Johnson launched a low, hard shot from
near the blue line, beating Saltarelli gloveside at 6:15 of the first for his 4th goal of season. Tulsa veterans Jorin Welsh and Marcellus assisted on the goal.
The Oilers gained a 3 goal advantage on
another low blast from the blue line, this time by rookie defenseman Jordon Flodell at 8:07 of the first. Marcellus and defenseman Regan Harper were awarded helpers on Flodell's 5th goal of the season.
The Brahmas only goal of the game came at 33 seconds of the second period when Chad Woollard received a cross ice feed from center Joe Van Volsen in the left circle and put an uncontested shot past
Branch from directly in front of the Oiler crease. The secondary assist went to Jason Reesor.
The Oilers regained a 3 goal cushion at 5:46 of the second when Marcellus and forward Aaron Millar raced
into the Brahma zone on a 2 on 1 rush, with Millar sending the puck from the left wing to Marcellus in the right slot, who in turn poked the puck into the net for his 29th goal of the season. Despite Fort
Worth contesting that the puck was kicked into the goal, referee Paul DePuydt allowed the score to stand.
Marcellus struck again at 7:49 of the second, firing a low shot from the right circle past
Saltarelli, giving Tulsa a 5-1 lead. Rookie forward Lyle Steenbergen received the only assist on Marcellus' second goal of the evening.
With Lee Jacobson in the box for rouging, the Oilers took a 6-1
lead at 12:28 of the second when Welsh drove a high shot from high in the right slot into the twine for his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Marcellus and Millar. Following Welsh's goal, Saltarelli was
pulled in favor of Brahma netminder Jason Fricker.
At 17:16 of the second, in an amazing turn of events, Marcellus completed his hat trick bid during a Fort Worth 5 on 3 advantage, with the Oiler
sniper snagging the puck in the Brahma zone, breaking to his right in the slot, and slipping a backhander past Fricker for his 31st goal of the year.
The Oilers travel to Oklahoma City Saturday night
for a 7:35 match with the Blazers. |
